The Assassins of Chaos
by MusicMakesLife
Summary: They lost it all, so they left. Chaos found them, and offer them shelter. The gods of Olympus never realized how much they needed Nico, Percy, and Thalia till they were gone. Without their heroes, & war with Gaea, the gods of Olympus were more vulnerable than ever. Percy, Thalia and Nico's would have to decide whether or not to help them. The fate of the world was in their hands.
1. Chapter 1

**I DON'T OWN THIS: RICK RIORDAN DOES! **

**~ THE ASSASSINS ~**

**PERCY SIGH IN RELIEF. "FINALLY."**

Thalia rolled her eyes electric blue eyes, but nodded. "It's good to be home."

Nico grinned, nodding as well. "It really is, even if we have to put up with our new 'friends.'"

The 3 Big Children made a face as they remember that unfortunate day they came across the 'heroes.'

Two days before they left for their quest- which Percy agree to do for Athena because he wanted her approval, and his cousins agreed to go with him- a girl, and two boys had shown up.

They had been followed by a Hydra, The Minotaur, the Furies, the Neon Lion, and worst of all, Medusa.

Confused as they had been, they bust in to action in matter of seconds. They had to help the new demigods after all.

Thalia notched an arrow in her bow in a flash, letting it fly in seconds, follow closely by two more arrows. The arrows landed in perfect target, right in Medusa's eyes. Percy, knowing her enough to know what she had done, quickly cut off her head, and moved along to the next monster without a moment's hesitation.

Nico, in that super cool way of his, raised his sword, and spoke in a clear voice. "Serve me." That made the Furies froze. The ground shook, then, the Furies were being sucked down back to Hades.

Percy, being ever the hero, swung his sword in his palm, letting it cut off the Minotaur's head off in a clean swiped, before a grin stretched over his face in relief.

Thalia took care of the Neon Lion, knowing how to kill it now. Without a beak, she shot to the lion's mouth, once, twice, then two more times. The arrows hit their mark neatly, killing the lion.

The other three kids had killed the Hydra accidentally. They had been struggling with it while the Big Three Heroes killed the bigger threats. Of course, the Heroes were faster and more skilled, leaving them to kill their kills in matter of seconds, and the camp should have known that.

However, what the camp choose to saw was things like this:

The Big 3 Heroes were standing to the side, _watching _as other demigods killed one simple Hydra.

Funny how things turn out different when you don't know everything, right?

The camp had been mad with the Heroes for letting 3 poor, untrained children fending for themselves. Oh, and the kids got all the glory.

And so new kids egos grew.

Percy, coming out from his thoughts, shrugged. "Maybe they got over themselves. They are new here, its logical that they would want attention."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Please, Perce. I don't know why you always want to think there's good in _everyone._"

Nico, his fatal flaw being grudges, couldn't help but agree. "I doubt that they would…_get over themselves._"

Percy, knowing he wasn't going to win against his cousins, let it drop. "Do you think they've been claim yet?"

Thalia was about to answer when she was interrupted. A loud cheer was coming from the mess hall. The cousins glance at each other, then grinned. They took off running toward the hall, wanting to know what the cheer was about.

Little did they know what was about to happen.

They arrived laughing, pushing each other away so they could enter first. Thalia, however, was the first one to look up. The smile on her face slipped of slowly, and her cousins turn to look at her, but she did not look at them. Her blazing blue eyes stared ahead, hard with rage.

Percy and Nico glance at each other, then they turn to look at where Thalia was glaring.

Everyone was gathered in the hall, laughing, clapping, cheering, smiling. They had their backs to the Big 3 Children, facing the fourteen Olympian gods. And in between them were the _other_ campers.

"Settle down, settle down," Zeus called over the noise.

Poseidon grinned at the crowd. "We, indeed, came here to claim our precious children." He placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder, now beaming with pried. Ethan was smirking over a the campers, as if he was a champion.

Zeus, as always, rolled his eyes at his brothers. "They are not just precious, brother." He turn to the crowd again. "I here by declare Brenda Rails, Ethan Notts, and Jacob Ashfored our favorite children."

Thalia bristle, taking a step away from the shadows, but her ever annoying cousins pulled her back. She struggle against their hold. She had to give those traitors that called themselves gods a piece of her mind. She couldn't allowed them to get away with this. Not after everything her and her cousins had done for the ungrateful bastards.

"What are you doing!" She hissed, still fighting.

Percy try to smooth her. "We knew this could have happen," he said calmly, but she could see the anger and hurt in his sea green eyes. "And, tell me, what good would it do for us to object to this?"

Nico, his black eyes glistering with hate and anger, nodded. "They are not going to change their mind." His voice was quiet, but she could hear the anger behind it. "They are just going to ignore us, Thals. _We can't fight them_."

She slumped against them, using them for support, her throat seem to have closed off, and she couldn't swallowed. "It's not fair," she whispered, fighting the angry tears back. "We gave them _everything_."

Percy sigh, then double back. His eyes grew hard, and his face tighten. She glance back at the halls, and grimaced.

Annabeth was curled around Ethan, Percy's half-brother, like a snake, her mouth on his. Jillian, the girl Nico had a crush on, was kissing _his_ half brother.

Thalia took the hands of her cousins, of her brothers. "Let's get out of here. Back to the cabin we found."

Percy tear his eyes away from the kissing couple. "I-" he seem to be shocking on his own breath.

She nodded, applying pressure on both of her brothers' hands. Gently, she pulled them away from the hall, promising herself to not look back.

It took some effort to find Bunker 9, as it was dark and hidden on the woods. When Nico finally regain his senses back- he'd been numb with anger-, he helped them found it. Bunker 9 was deep within the forest, where the monsters resided but the monsters seem to sense their mood, so they stayed away. Once they reach the cabin, Nico hit the pad besides the bed with enough to break it. The doors open, and Thalia pushed her brothers in.

Percy collapsed in the bunk, staring at the ceiling.

Thalia glanced at him, then at Nico, who was leaning against the wall, twisting his skull ring. The resemblance was there, in the stubborn set of their jaws, in the icy glares, the still silence. She wondered if it was the same with her, if she looked like them.

She sat down on the bed, taking a deep breath. "It's not that bad," she said. "At least I'm still a Hunter, I could ask Lady Ater-"

"Thalia, your tiara is gone," Percy said in a flat voice, still staring at the ceiling.

Her hand flew to her head, to feel the cool comforting halo that hovered above her head, but it was gone. With a sick feeling, she realized that's why she had wanted to attack everyone, scream and trash till she had no more energy. She hadn't know the halo was gone, but she had _felt _it.

She threw herself back, landing on Percy's legs sideways, her head hanging off the edge of the bed. And then, she let out a scream of rage that shook the skies. Her cousins didn't even flinch, or try to stop her.

She was breathing heavy, trying to get her breath back after such a long scream of rage and hurt, and betrayal.

"We need to go," she said, closing, still lying sideways on Percy's legs.

"Go where?" Nico asked, looking up from where he was leaning against the wall. "It's not like there's another camp we can just waltz right in to and stay."

"We don't have to go _another _camp. We can just go back to Mom's house," Thalia said, getting up from Percy's legs. She had to pull herself together. After they were home save, she could curl up with her mom and cry about everything that was unfair in the world like a normal teenaged girl. "Do you think Mom will be home today, Percy?"

Sally had told Nico and Thalia to call her "Mom" and they had happily complied. After all, they had no moms, but they had accepted that a long time ago. Plus, Sally was just amazing.

Percy sat up, nodding, a small smile on his face. "She ought to be home."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Nico said, moving away from the wall. "I want to see Mom."

"You want her cooking," Thalia said, rolling her eyes. "There's a difference."

He wiggle his fingers at her, the skull ring on his finger glittering in the dim light sinisterly."Aahhh," he said. "To have her cooking, I would want to see her, wouldn't I?"

Percy nodded, apparently agreeing with Nico. "He has a point, you know."

She rolled her eyes, "When you both decide to stop being idiots, we could go."

"We weren't being idiots," Percy defended as he stood up. "We just won the argument and you can't stand the fact you lost."

She mockingly glare at him. "Don't go there."

"Yeah, Percy," Nico said, smirking at Thalia. "Little Thali-Thals doesn't like to be reminded of how she lost to us."

She glared at Nico this time. "Don't call me that."

She huffed when the two boys just snickered, turning her back on them. She reach the door, knowing her cousins were following her.

Then a thought crossed her, and she stop. She turn around, looking at her cousins who had stop when she did, eyebrows raised, and eyes searching. When they found nothing wrong, they look back at her.

"What?" Nico asked, placing his sword back on its sheath.

"I don't want them to see us when we leave," she answer.

Percy sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I hadn't thought about that."

"Of course you didn't," Nico rebutted.

"Shut up, Nicki. I'm willing to bet that you didn't think about it either." Percy, ever the clever sarcastic guy.

"Don't call me Nicki, Perseus," Nico huffed, glaring at Percy.

Percy's cheeks flushed. "Don't call me-"

"Shut up, both of you," Thalia said, rolling her eyes. "We need to get home. Mom has probably already started cooking. We won't ever get home if you continue arguing. And I don't know about you two, but I want to see Mom."

"He started it," both boys said at the same time.

She narrowed her eyes at them. "And I don't care who started it. I told you to shut up. Now, back to the problem. How do we get out of here without being seen?"

Nico shrugged. "I doubt they even notice we even got here at all."

Before Percy could open his mouth to agree, a small voice sounded from behind them.

"I did."

They swirl around, their hands going to their weapons. Once they recognize who it was, they gave a small bow.

"Lady Hestia," Percy said, giving her a small smile. "A pleasure."

She was in her eight year old form, standing innocently in front of them. Her red flaming eyes watch them sadly, but she gave them a small true smile.

"Hello, Percy," she said. "Thalia, Nico. It's nice to see you."

Thalia looked at her skeptically. "How much of our conversation did you hear?"

"Thalia," Nico warn.

Hestia smiled at Thalia, who had ignored Nico. "I heard most of it, yes. I don't plan on stopping you, no."

"Then-" Thalia began.

"Lady Hestia," Percy interrupted. "What can we do for you?"

"Actually, I think it was you who needed help," she said, looking at them with wide, honest eyes.

"We were doing fine," Thalia mumble.

"Thalia," Percy warn. "Lady Hestia is just trying to help."

"It's all right, Percy," Hestia said. "Thalia just doesn't trust me."

"In my defense, everyone that I trusted just turn their backs on me," Thalia said.

Hestia's head turn to the side slightly. "You still have your cousins."

Thalia's lips thin. "Betrayal is betrayal."

Hestia nodded. "Just don't forget you have your cousins."

"How could you help us?" Nico asked, breaking Hestia's staring match with Thalia.

"I heard you want to go home," she said smiling brilliantly. "And I do believe home is my job."

The cousins turn to each other, silently communicating with each other. Hestia watch with fascination as the two boys turn to Thalia, who seem untrusting. They reminded her of Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. Even if the Big Three Brothers would never admitted, she knew they needed each other.

"Okay," Percy said, breaking away from his conversation with his cousins to face her. "Please, Lady Hestia."

They watch as Hestia's eyes burn brighter. "I want you to remember, children, that wherever you go, if you pray to me, I will try to help. Life is never easy for Half-Bloods, specially for my brothers' children. I do wish for you to remember that no matter how bad life seems, it is always worth it to keep going."

The children exchange uneasy glances.

"Why are you telling us this, Hestia?" Thalia asked, her hand going to her bracelet.

Hestia gave her a sad smile. "Because life is never fair, Thalia." She looked at them for a last time before she took at deep breath. "There's always a reason to smile, though, even at the darkest of times. Be careful, children. Live your life, be happy. Whatever the Fates have in mind for you, I am certain you will get through it. I have never seen such heroes in a long time. I will miss you."

Percy blinked. "Thank you, Aunt Hestia. For everything."

Nico nodded. "If you ever need a hero, give us a call and we'll see what we can do."

"I wouldn't let the idiots mess up," Thalia added, ignoring the irritated glares of her cousins. "So yeah. What they said."

Hestia nodded, giving them a last smile. "Goodbye children."

* * *

**Thalia's Pov:**

The moment the light faded away from us, I knew something was wrong. I could feel it, that feeling that went down my back. It was enough to make my senses tingle, making my ADHD to act up.

I glanced at my cousins. "Can you feel it?"

Percy nodded, looking around. "Something feels…off."

Nico frown. "There's been death here."

We turn to look at him. Death?

Now, being a Half-Blood, I was not surprise. I seen more death then I ever wanted. I have seen gruesome things that had kept me up at night, things that made me sick. Death was unpleasant, but it was…it was a regular thing in a demigod's life.

But death at Mom's house?

"Monster death, or…" Percy asked, trailing off at the end. But we knew what he mean.

Human death.

Nico took a deep breath, scowling at the empty air in front of him. "Human death."

I couldn't help the grimace that took over my face. Killing monsters was unpleasant, but human dead…From the corner of my eye, I could see Percy tense up, and Nico's hand on his sword.

"Recently?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Nico nodded. "I can feel it…someone died here, no more than a few hours ago."

I swallowed.

"An accident perhaps?" Percy asked, glancing around.

I did too, but I could not see anything that wasn't cars, and the apartments. I could see people in the distance, but it was New York. If there was no people walking around, then I would worry.

Nico was shaking his head. "I don't know. I can sense the violence in it…but it wasn't here. I can feel the death, but here…it's just a trace of it. It weights down the air, and it…it wasn't here, though."

"Soooooo…?" I promped.

He shrugged. "It was…" He stopped, lifting his head up toward the apartments. "It was inside."

I glanced at Percy. He seemed uneasy. "We'll ask Mom what happen. We should go inside," he said.

I nodded, while Nico just shrugged. We stayed there for another second before we made our way to the doors. As we walked, I could feel my insides twisting, like they always did when something…unpleasant was going to happen.

As we reach Mom's apartment, Percy hesitated for a moment before reaching in his pocket, and pulling out a key. He placed it in the door's keyhole, and turn the key. Then, he pushed the door open.

What I saw made my blood freeze.

Everything was destroyed. The table looked as it had been mashed against the wall. The chairs had been broken flat against the floor. There was a claw mark on the floor, near the hall that lead to the bedrooms. The flat screen TV that usually sat against the wall was laying in the kitchen counter, the screen broken in to little pieces.

But that wasn't what was so horrifying.

Mom's body was in the middle of it, a black dagger sticking up from her chest. Her eyes wide open, her mouth open as well in a silent scream. She lay on a puddle of blood- her blood, I guess. And Paul's head was the only thing I saw of him. His head was stuck on the coat racket.

I swallowed, looking away. The bile had rose to my throat, and tears stung on the back of my eyes. For a moment, the world spun under my feet.

I turn to look at my cousins.

Nico was paler then usual. His eyes were shiny, and his lips were pressed together. His hands were clench on either side of him.

Percy was froze on the spot. Tears running down his face, his mouth open silently. He stagger back, his back hitting against the wall behind him. Slowly, he slid down the wall.

He made a shocking sound. "Mom."

I bit my lip, taking a step toward him. "Maybe she's not…she's not…you know…"

Nico swallowed, shaking his head. "She's…I can…I can feel it."

I felt a tear run down my face as I turn to look at Mom…She couldn't be dead. Mom promised that if we needed her, she would be there. She would take care of us. I remember her smile the last time I saw her, and felt my heart clench.

She would never smile like that again.

Nico shook his head, walking toward her. He knelt, and closed her eyes. "Rest in…Rest in peace, Sally Jackson…Mom."


	2. Chapter 2

**I DON'T OWN THIS: RICK RIORDAN DOES! **

**~ THE ASSASSINS ~**

**NICO'S POV:**

I WASN'T OVER THE SHOCK YET.

Naturally, I was used to hanging around death. Nothing about it bother me. I mean, it was sad, knowing that so many people, young and old, died, but it was a cycle of life…

But Mom…

She had always seem so steady, so strong…I think I may have believe her to be above death. Like she wasn't capable of dying. I suppose I thought of her as a goddesses. A motherly loving and fierce goddesses that was incapable of being selfish or cruel.

Was it a punishment? To have both, my mother and my adopted mother killed?

If it was…what in the name of Hades did I do?

The thought was over a second later. It was not my fault. I did nothing but help the gods. But the gods, it seem, were too busy to help my mother.

Where was Poseidon? Wasn't he suppose to be watching over her? He claim to love her, but he let her die.

I shook my head. I couldn't afford to be angry at the moment. I had to focus on my cousins…they were the only family I had left.

Thalia swallowed. "We need to go."

Percy shook his head. He was still crying, staring at Mom's body. "I…We can't leave her."

Thalia knelt besides him, a few tears escaping. "We…we should burry her…It's the least we can do."

I nodded, stepping behind her. "I know just the place."

"Do you think she would like it?" Percy asked. He didn't look at us. He was still staring at Mom.

I snorted. "No one likes the thought of bring buried, Percy."

He looked at me. For a second I thought he was going to slice me to bits, but he started laughing. It was hysterical laughter. I never heard him laugh like that…wait, yes I did. We had been in war at the time. He had been slaying thousands of monsters…laughing.

This wasn't any different.

I looked down at Thalia, and she look at me. Her lips were twitching, as if she was fighting back the urge to laugh. I don't know if it was because watching them laugh at nothing was funny, or their craziness was contagious, but a burst of laughter left my lips.

Thalia started laughing out of nowhere too.

And suddenly, we were all laughing. It was hysterical laughter, uncountable. I don't know why we were laughing. I don't think I cared at the moment. I suppose it was either laughter or tears. I honestly prefer laughing.

I don't remember how long we lay there, on the floor of our dead mother's house. After the laughter died away, I felt exhausted, my stomach ache, my throat hurt, and my head was pounding. I could only imagine how my cousins felt.

After a few hours of silent, I began to notice that the sun was going down, and the shadows were closing in. The house was still dark, and the only lights we had were dim lights coming from the open windows.

"We should go," Thalia said, not taking her eyes off from the ceiling. "We need to…" She trail off.

I understood what she was trying to say.

"You said you knew where we should burry her, Nico," Percy said.

I nodded slowly. "I make it my business to know about graveyards and stuff alike."

There was a pause before Thalia snorted. "That is so sad, Death Breath."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Pionaco Face."

"You can't copy my nickname, Zombie Boy," Percy called, raising his head to look mockingly accusingly at me.

I return the look. "You're one to talk, Kelp Head."

Percy open his mouth to answer, but Thalia stood.

"Shut up, both of you. I just want to get out of here. We have things to do," she lecture, placing her hands on her hips, looking down at us.

"Like what?" Percy challenged.

"Oh, I don't know," she said sarcastically. "How about where we are going to get money for food? Where are we going to sleep? What are we going to do now? Don't you think figuring that out may be a little important?"

"I never said they weren't important," he said airily. "I just wasn't particularly worried about them."

"Well, you should be," Thalia snap. "I am not sleeping on the streets."

"Calm your head from the sky, Thals," I said, sitting up. "You're not sleeping in the streets."

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Where are we going to sleep then?"

I was silent for a few minutes, then turn to Percy. He look back at me, then shrugged. He didn't know what to do either.

"Exactly," Thalia huffed, then she sat back down. "I don't want to stay here."

I shook my head, repressing a shudder. "We aren't staying here."

Percy snorted. "I'm not about to disagree with you guys…I don't think I could stand being here."

I frown as a though crossed my mind. "There's something wrong."

My cousins turn to look at me, disbelief taking over their features.

"More?" They asked in perfect sync that it was kind of creepy.

"Well," I said, standing up. "Don't you think that it's a little weird that no one's come up and check what all the sound is about?"

"We live in New York City," Thalia said, rolling her eyes. "There's always noise in New York."

Percy frown, looking around. "But…Nico is right. I doubt Mom went down without a fight. She would have…Someone must have notice."

Thalia paused, frowning as well. "Well, unless there was no one in the building besides Mom and Paul, which is very unlikely, there's only one more option…Magic."

I nodded, having to come to the same conclusion. "The only option there is."

Percy, however, frown. "The only people who can do magic are the gods and Hecate's children." He shook his head. "I doubt the gods would want to bother with killing a mortal…And why would Hecate's children want to magic the building, or kill Mom for that matter?"

"It doesn't make sense," I agreed. "The gods would have not killed like this…Too much mess. They would struck a mortal where they stood, or just burn them with their godly power…or send a monster to do their biding for them."

"It was a monster," Percy said, glaring out the window. "I know a monster's mess when I see one."

I couldn't help but wince at the bitterness of his tone, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Thalia shudder.

It was still true, though. Percy was the one who probably saw more death then any other demigod who wasn't Thalia or me.

"Let's go," Thalia said, standing up. A flash of silver told me that she had been holding her iPod. Demigods were not friends with phone, but iPods weren't so bad for us. They were...safer-ish than phones. "It's twelve thirty in the morning. We should take advantage of the dark and…get what we need to get done, done."

I nodded, standing up. "I'll…I'll get her."

Percy shook his head. "I should be the one-"

"I'm Hades son," I argued, looking at him straight in the eyes. "I'm used to this stuff."

He hesitated for a second before he nodded, standing up. "Alright, then."

I walked toward Mom's body, and knelt down before whispering a few Ancient Greek words. Her body glowed for a second, then was gone.

"Where did she go?" Thalia asked from behind me.

"I sent her ahead of us," I answer. "I thought it would cause suspicion if we walked out with her."

Percy took a deep breath, then spoke on a shaky voice. "Ready?"

"Not really," I said, shaking my head with a small grim smile.

Thalia snorted. "As ever as I'll ever be."

He gave a small grim smile. "Perfect."

We were standing on a hill top that over looked a cemetery. The hill had a big tree, shading the ground underneath it. Mom's body lay there, under the protection of the three.

We had stopped at Wal-Mart to buy some needed supplies. We had gotten the money from around Mom's house- emergency money that Mom had left for Percy if he had ever needed it. We had gotten a few pair of clothes, cheap, but nice.

Thalia had gotten black shorts, and simple back thank top. According to her, it all went with her leather black jacket that she always wore, and punk boots. Her lightning-shaped heavy looking ring flashed every time she moved her hand. And with her black make up - which she had reapplied in the store's bathroom- she looked like the kind of girl who would kick ass just because someone annoyed her.

Percy on the other hand, had chosen a simple pair of black jeans, a black V-neck, a black hoddie to go with his expensive looking green Nikes, which had been a gift from Paul. He had taken new headphones too- black ones. he was twisting the ring Poseidon had given him.

I had chosen a black pair of jeans, a black T-shirt that had a death angel on both sides- the face on the front and its back on my back, and a black leather jacket. My skull ring glittering evilly in the light, and a black pair of combat boots.

Black was the right color to choose if you were going to go sneaking around in a cemetery at night.

We look dangerous to outsiders- judging by the looks some adults gave us. The cashier girl had actually tried to hit on Percy, but he just gave her a weird look and then look away. The girl had looked embarrassed, and hurt.

Well, I couldn't blame him. He wasn't exactly too aware of girls. It took him years to finally go out with Annabeth, and she turn out to be a cheat.

We had "borrowed" a shovel that had been "lying around." Percy and I took turns every so often. I'd never realize how hard _digging _could be. At the end, I'm pretty sure we made the whole big enough- it certainly looked around six feet.

We couldn't steal a coffin. Mom wouldn't have liked the idea of us stealing. So we had found a carbon box that had clearly been for a fridge, and decorated.

The box didn't look bad. It actually looked nice.

It was a greenish blue - we had spray painted it. The green faded in the blue, making it look unique. Thalia had taken ruffle paper, and staple it on the edge- black, green, and blue paper. We had taken every flower we could see in the dark, -and even some leafs from the tree- and gently glued it to the sides.

"Ready?" Percy asked me.

I nodded, reaching for the coffin. It was difficult. But I could almost pretend she was sleeping. Her hands were folded on her stomach, her eyes close, and she looked peaceful…even if her clothes were tattered, and there was dried blood on her person.

I had learned that even if some people had violent deaths, they were strong enough to have peace on the underworld.

I placed my hand on Mom's forehead, and murmured a final prayer, a final prayer for her to find peace.

Percy grabbed the other end, and we lifted the box/coffin. We lowered it gently to the ground, being careful to not break the box. We settle her in the middle of the roots, and then step back.

"Wait!" Thalia exclaimed, pulling out her ring. She jumped in the hole, and walked towards Mom.

"What are you-" Percy asked, but trailed off when Thalia placed her ring on Mom's hand.

"I want her to have something of me," Thalia said, taking a few steps back. "It's only right."

I played with the ring on my finger, and looked at Percy. We looked at Thalia, who shrugged at us, giving us a sad smile.

It was Percy who took of his ring first. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to decide.

I looked down at the ring. My father had given it to me, a present. The Big Three gods had give Thalia, Percy and me the rings, as a representation of our lives, I suppose. Thalia got lightning, Percy a trident, and I got a skull…

The skull my dad gave me had meant so much to me, but now…

"It feel like they marked us," I said out loud, looking up at my cousins. "As if they were putting a seal on something to mark it as their property."

"I know," Thalia said, massaging her left hand, where her ring had been.

I looked at Percy and he shrugged. "I want nothing to do with them anymore. Plus, it'd been nice to leave something of us with her."

I nodded, placing my ring on Mom's finger, next to my cousins.

We stayed there for a moment. Percy kneeling by Mom, Thalia standing slightly behind him, and me, a crossed from them on their other side. I would have said that we were alone, but we weren't. We had each other. We were family, and that matter above everything else.

Finally, I sigh, and climbed out. I reach back, and held out a hand to Thalia. She gave me a small smile of thanks, and took it. I gave her a boost up while Percy placed his hands together, and held out for her to step on. She didn't have to touch the dirty too much when she climbed up with our help. Percy just took hold of a branch, and took hold of the dirty, and he was out.

It took twenty minutes to get the hole cover again. The hill had been even covered by neatly cut green grass. The hill had been whole. Now, there was a spot of dirty that stood out at first sight. Thalia had manipulated the Mist to fool the mortals, but I knew… I knew what lay underneath that uneven spot of dirty.

I swallowed and looked away.

"Bye, Mom," I heard Percy say.

"Rest in peace," Thalia said, sounding as if she was choking on something. "I'll take care of the boys, and make sure they don't mess up."

Percy choke on a laugh.

"We love you," I manage to choke out.

Thalia took my hand, then reach over for Percy's. We looked down at the secret grave. My throat closed off, my eyes stung, and my heart was beating unevenly on my chest. I was shaking, like my cousins.

Then, together, we turn around, and walked away.

No one of us had the strength to look back.


	3. Chapter 3

**I DON'T OWN THIS: RICK RIORDAN DOES! **

**~ THE ASSASSINS ~**

**PERCY'S POV.**

**IT WAS ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS WHERE MY BRAIN SEEMED TO BE TRYING TO SCAPED FROM MY HEAD, AND MY BODY FELT SORED TO THE POINT OF PAIN. **My eyelids were heavy, like _brick heavy, _and they were harder to open every time I blinked. My brain was smashed potato, and I was on the brink of crying my eyes out.

And yet, I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes, and sleep.

It wasn't because I _didn't_ want to sleep. It certainly wasn't from the lack of sleepiness. I had enough of that to knock me out for a few days. It was because I _couldn't _sleep. The nightmares were horrible, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw Paul's remains, and my mother's body, now cold and buried.

I just couldn't handle that anymore.

I made my way to the small kitchenette. I needed water, and maybe ambrosia, if we had any left.

We've had a horrible past few days. After we buried Mom, we had stayed in a cheap hotel room - which hadn't been the easiest thing. Thalia had to used a few methods of persuasion; the Mist, and a tip, though not necessarily in that order. We had to eat fast food, and a few snacks every other day, trying to not overspend, but by the fifth day, we were running low on money. Not only that, but we had been attacked by fake hotel staff- twice- and Thalia had been attacked on the third day when she went to buy food at the convenience mark a few streets down. She had manage to scape, but had been injured, as had Nico prior to her. Okay, so running out of Camp Half-Blood without getting any ambrosia or nectar or arrows for Thalia, or some more clothes from Mom's house had not been the best idea.

We were kids still, though. Kids who were alone, with only each other to relied on.

Nico lifted his head from where he was stretched on the floor. "Can't sleep either?"

I grimaced. "Third day without a wink of sleep."

"Ah." He sat up, nodding. "Me too. The stupid dreams are giving me a headache."

I open my mouth to answer, but another voice interrupted me. "Shut up, losers, I'm trying to get some sleep."

"At least you can sleep, Thali-Thals," Nico called back, his voiced dripping with sarcasm as he called her _Thali-Thals._

She sat up, grabbing the pillow from the bed, and throwing it with scary accuracy to his head. He huffed, but took the pillow, and stuffed it under his head.

Thalia had taken the only bed in the room, and Nico and I had taken the floor. She had called it, saying that she was the one working the Mist to fool the mortal. She had won outright with that argument, plus, it wasn't like we would have really made her sleep on the floor. She would have never forgiven us.

"Don't called me that, Nicky Dearest," She said, laying back on the bed. "Or I swear, I'll shove a knife up where the sun doesn't shine."

I snickered, ignoring the sharp pain it send to my brain. "Ouch."

Nico ignored me and responded to her threat. "You love me too much to hurt me, Thals."

She grumble something that sounded like, "Love my knife too much to do something so horrendous to it...maybe a stick would be better...stupid cousins...annoying boys...I need sleep..."

Nico grinned at me. "Good night, princess."

"Have depressing nightmares, you annoying _boy_," she grumble back. "And Percy, there's no more ambrosia left."

I groan, and placed my head on the wall, which, surprisingly, was cold. It felt good against my too warm skin.

Thals sighed. "Percy, take a hot shower. It'll help."

Nico shrugged when I looked at him. "Do as Princess Grumpiness said. She will make you suffer with her Pillows of Doom if you argue with her."

I left them to go take a shower. Thalia was screaming at him about her new nickname, and he was "bla bla bla-ing" her.

* * *

Thalia had been right about the shower. It had calmed my muscles, and made me feel like jelly.

I threw myself on the floor, groaning as my body relax. Within minutes, my too heavy eyes closed, and I was asleep.

I got about twenty minutes of sleep. Maybe less.

There was an annoying knocking.

"Shut up," I groan, moving the pillow to block out the sound.

"Someone answer the damn door!" I heard Thalia yelled.

Nico kicked my shins, and mumbled something that sounded like profanities. He kicked me again when I refused to move.

"Why should I have to answer the 'damn door'?" I complained.

"You're the closes, Dumbo," Thalia answered.

Murmuring profanities under my breath, I kicked Nico's leg out of my way. I stumbled my way to the door.

There were three people behind the door. One of them I recognized as the manager. He had been yelling at a poor maid when we had checked in. He didn't look like the most pleasant guy on earth. He has a black mustache - like the villains in the old movies- wore a black plain suit, and tennis shoes (I know right. Who wears tennis shoes with suits?) The other was a more classy dressed guy, and a woman with clothes that looked way too tight on her. She wore too much make up, and was clinging on the second guy's arm.

"What are you still doing here?" Manager Dude ask, taking a step forward.

I rubbed my eyes, holding back a yawn. "I'm sorry what?"

"This room is supposed to be vacant, Percy Jackson."

Okay. If I had been a wink of sleep, I would have understood what was going on. But I was tired. My brain felt like mush, and I was swaging on my feet. All I wanted was to go back to sleep. For an hour, or a day, o maybe a few weeks.

"Oh, yeah, we were just leaving," I mumbled.

The manager grinned, taking another step forward. "Percy Jackson, we are here to kill you."

And then they began to change.

I stumbled back. Nico had sat up while I attended the door, and Thalia had taken hold of her daggers.

"Hell," Nico murmured, standing up.

The monsters were horrible to look at, and they smelled worse as they stepped into the room.

Nico tossed me Riptide. He and I stood together while Thalia stood on the bed, her bow strung. Nico and I raised our swords, the three of us with perfect stance, ready for a direct attack. It would have worked if we only had to worry about the three monsters in front of us.

Then the window exploded.

Ten more monsters surrounded us.

In unison my cousins and I let out some words that would have made Mom wash our mouths with soap.

"You know what the ironic thing is?" The Monster Manager Dude gloated.

"That you don't know how to match shoes and clothes?" I asked.

He sneered at me. "No." He snapped. "Don't you notice something odd?"

I looked around, frowning.

It was Thalia who answered. "There's too many of you for just three demigods."

"Aah," the monster shook his index finger at her ad if she was a little girl who had done something wrong. "You three aren't just _three demigods._ You are children of the Big Three. And this one-" he pointed a finger at me, "well, that one should taste like sea food. I love sea food."

I frown at him. But Thalia was right. There were too many monsters for this to be a casual thing. She should know. She had been in this kind of situation before.

"Who send you?" Nico spoke up.

"You see, demigods," the monster continued. "You are wanted by all monsters. You killed a lot of us, and we want you dead. But the most curious thing happen. After a certain goddesses informed the gods of your departure, they debated whether to continued to ignore your existence or to kill you." He grinned.

"They send you to kill us," Thalia said, her voiced tight with anger.

The Monster Manager Dude laughed. "May Hades have your souls!"

Suddenly the room burst into action, and I stopped thinking.

My body knew what to do. It came naturally to me. Kick, stab, slash, jump back, kick, roll, kick, behead.

I could see Nico was slashing his way through to the Monster Manager. I kicked a monster who had tried to sneak behind Nico's back, and killed it. But it didn't matter how many we killed because they had back up.

Gods, the gods meant business to have sent so many after us.

The point was we were outnumbered. The more we killed, the more that filled the room.

And then I heard it.

Thalia had cried out, her back arched as the monster behind her clawed at her back. I could see the blood from where I was standing. I felt my mouth moving, but I couldn't hear what I was saying. Maybe I cussed, or maybe I called her name.

My legs moved, suddenly finding myself catching my cousin as she wobble forward. Nico was beside me a second later. He gripped his sword with both hands, and stabbed it on the center of the monster's chest. It scream with agony as it died.

I passed her to him, picking up Riptide from where I dropped it, holding it steady infront of us. My Super River of Styx would have worked better if it were not for the fact that I was completly drained out of battery.

The monsters were about to launched themselves forward when it happen.

"That is enought!" A new voiced bellowed.

I turned to look at the owner's voice. It was a boy, no older than seventeen, with curly golden blonde hair, black armor, and a black expensive coat over it. He held a shiny sword in each hand as well. He should have looked as if he was going to a funeral but he looked like a male model.

"What are you doing here?" The Monster Manager Dude's voice was shaky.

The guy grinned, taking a step forward. The monsters moved faster than I had ever seen them, but the guy was faster. He had twelve dead at his feat dead in two minutes.

"I think its time for you to go," he said to Monster Dude. "You wouldn't want me to bring my father into this, would you?"

"They have no business with you," he rasped. "I will have their blood between my teeth."

"Another day, then," the boy replied.

Before anyone of us could move an inch, the Monster Manager Dude gasped, and started to vanish.

And then all the monsters started to die.

"See, this is the bad thing about thing tying one monster to others," a girl's voiced said that did not belong to Thalia. This girl looked a lot like the boy. She had been the one who clearly stabbed the Manager. But dear gods, she look so petty. She was slim, petty, and pretty, all golden like the boy, who was smirking at her.

"Who are you?" Thalia asked.

I blinked, looking back at my cousins, Nico who was kneeling besides a bleeding Thalia. I knelt too reaching for the ash and blood covers of the bed to try to stop the bleeding.

I saw the girl reach for her pocket and Nico reach for his sword.

"Hey, its okay," she said, extending her hand, in which ambrosia rested. "I just thought you need it."

He glared at her, but took it. I took it, feeding it to Thals.

"Who are you?" Nico repeated Thalia's question.

She smiled while the guy next to her rolled her eyes. "I'm Roselyn," she answered. "And this is my brother Adrian. We're children of Chaos. We are here to help."


	4. Chapter 4

**I DON'T OWN THIS: RICK RIORDAN DOES! **

**~ THE ASSASSINS ~**

**PERCY'S POV.**

**THALIA COUGHED. "CHAOS? THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE?"**

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Do you know any other Chaos?" His tone was dripping with arrogance. All the excitement had vanished the moment his sister had killed the Manager Dude, but the arrogance remain. He placed his swords on its sheds, which rested across his back.

"Adrian," Roselyn reprimand. "She's hurt, probably lost a lot of blood, and maybe broke a bone or two. We've talked about this."

He sighed at her, "Are you going to explain this to them or should we just kidnap them? Father never said we couldn't."

"Kidnap us?" I echoed, reaching for Riptide.

"He's just kidding," Roselyn hastily assured. "He's not the most patient. We've been trying to teach him manners over the last few years, but its futile."

"Rose," Adrian said. "We need to go, and fast. They'll stay away while we're here, but the girl doesn't look too well."

"My name is Thalia," Thalia rasped out. "And I'm fine."

Roselyn bite her lip. "Can I-" she hesitated. "If I can get closer, I can try to heal her, if you'll let me."

Nico narrowed his eyes at her. "Any sudden movements, and I'll-"

"You won't do anything," her brother snapped. "I'll behead you before you even have the chance to blink."

Nico reached for his sword, but she placed her hand on her brother's chest. He was a head taller than her, but she didn't seemed intimidated. She whispered a few things to him, and his face grew more and more annoyed.

"Fine," he said, surprisingly, I almost expected him to snap at her. "Make it fast, Rose."

"Thank you," she said. She turned to us, looking a lot more relaxed. "My brother means no harm, I promised, but if you want us to explain-"

"Of course we want you to explain!" Nico snapped, causing a narrowed eye look on Adrian's face. "You waltz in here, _helping us_ as you called it for no apparent reason. We want to know who you are and what you want."

I didn't blame Nico for not believing or trusting them. We've been tricked, and betrayed too many times in the spam of a few weeks. They could be other monster in disguised for all we knew.

"I will," Roselyn insisted. "But Thalia needs help. Just let me help, and we'll explain."

Nico and I looked at each other. She was right of course. And what were the chances that they would save us just to kill us?

"Fine," I nodded, moving off the bed.

Shrugging off her black coat, she handed it to her brother. Underneath the coat, she wore black armor, which set of her golden locks perfectly, and a red shiny ruby hung on her neck.

"Did you get injured just on your back?" She asked, rearranging her hair up in a bun.

Thalia nodded. "A monster snuck up on me and..." she released a breath through her teeth.

"It happens to the best of us." She looked up at us. "Adrian, help me turn her over. I need to get a good look at her back."

"What I don't understand," I started, "is why you want to help us."

"Rose told you," Adrian snapped at me, turning Thalia so she lay on her back. He took a step back from the bed, and allowed his sister to work, though his stance remain protectively defensive. "We were send here by our father, Chaos, who wanted us to help you, and if you wished, you could come with us."

"But where?" Nico snapped back. "And why would _Chaos_ of all the gods wants to help _us_?"

"Because he thinks you need help," he answered, a scowl adorning his face. "That's what he does. He rules the universe, and helps demigods like you who have been forsaken by the gods. There's been more than you imagine."

I winced, and Nico finch.

Roselyn looked up from where she was cleaning Thalia's wounds. "Adrian," she said.

He gave her a look.

"Oh, stop it, and hand me your shirt," she said, holding her hand out. "And someone get me clean water."

"You want my shirt," he said slowly. "Again."

"I'll buy you more," she argued. "C'mon."

"Its not that you need to buy me more," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I have more than enough."

"Nonsense, one can never have enough clothes," she retorted.

I turned away to get the water she said she needed as her brother begging to strip the top part of his armor. The small kitchen was destroy, and the faucet was broken, the water spilling everywhere. I took the cup I had been drinking water from- which surprisingly survived- and held it underneath the waterfall. Walking back to the bed, I held it out to her.

She nodded to me, ripping her brother's black shirt to shreds. He had pulled his armor back in place, the expensive looking coat back on his shoulders as well.

"So Chaos helps..." Nico continued. "Why would he bother?"

The siblings looked at each other, as if arguing silently about something.

"What?" I probed.

"My father is King of the Universe," Adrian said. "But he can't do it alone."

"What do you mean?" Thalia's muffled voice asked.

"There's a lot of wars in other planets," Roselyn answered, reaching over to yank something out of Adrian's pocket. "He can't interfere directly, so he helps lost demigods, and offers them a place with him. We train, and fight for what we believe. He is our leader, of course, but we have directors, and as such. We are not chosen by favoritism, but by skill."

"He has his own army, then," Nico summarized.

The siblings nodded in unison. "Yes," Adrian answered. "He gives forgotten and lost demigods a home, training, a motive to live, and a way of life. We are never separated by our parents, like Camp Half-Blood."

"We're all family," Roselyn added, finishing with Thalia's back. She had tied the strips on the worst parts of Thalia's back to hold must of the blood. "We fight in any world that needs our help, but we fight for us because no one else will."

I looked at Nico, then we both glanced at Thalia. We understood that, the "we fight for us" part.

"Why us?" I asked. "Why would he bother with us?"

Adrian mumble something that I didn't understand, something that sounded like another language. His sister bit her lip, hiding a small smile.

"He knows who you are," she answered, getting to her feet. Adrian held out her coat, helping her put it on. "He doesn't really think its fair for you to have done the ungrateful gods a service, then being thrown into the streets like yesterday's news paper."

"Again, why does he care?" Thalia asked, sitting up, wincing slightly at the movement.

"He thinks you would make a great addition to the team," Adrian answered in his sarcastic way.

"How do we know what you're saying is the true?" I asked.

"No one would dare lie on my father's name," he snapped, taking his sister's hand. "Now, we have to go. We are needed in war right this very second, but my father thought it was a good idea to send us for you. I have a war to fight, and my family to help, so make your decision _now._"

"Can you give us a minute to think about it?" Thalia asked.

"You have one minute," he said, tugging Roselyn to the door.

I looked back at my cousins. Nico was now sitting on the edge of the bed, while Thalia slid her feet off the bed. "So?" Thalia asked, panting slightly with the effort she was making. "I think we should do it."

Nico glared at her over his shoulder. "We don't even know if what they are saying is true."

She stared defiantly back. "Its not like we have anything to hold us back here. If they are so bad, why would they save us just to kill us?"

"They don't really look like monsters," I added, helping Thalia to her feet. "Like she said, we have nothing to lose."

I understood Nico's reluctance. We were being tracked down by the Olympian Gods, and we couldn't just go trusting random strangers who popped in out of nowhere, shinny swords blazing, offering help.

"We can give it a try," Nico nodded. "If there's even the slightest thing I don't like, we are coming back."

Thalia grinned. "I'm just hungry. You think they have food?"

"Enough to feed a whole army for a few millenniums," Roselyn answered from the door. She gave us a small smile. "We really have to get going or Adrian's going to start chopping pedestrians to pieces."

"Would he really?" Nico asked.

She shook her head. "He's just in a bad mood because we were taken off the battlefield. Our family is out there without us. That puts him in a very bad mood."

"Where are you fighting?" Thalia asked, almost interested.

"Fifth Universe, First Planet," she sighed warily, running a hand through her hair, which she had let down. "We had been hopping to avoid that one."

"Why?" Nico stood off the bed.

She glanced back. "I'll explain later. Right now, I need to know your decision."

We exchanged glances. "Can you promise us this isn't a trap?" Thalia asked.

She stood straighter, placing her left hand on her chest. "I swear in the name of Chaos that this is not a trap."

"Then we'll come with you," Thalia confirm.

She grinned. "All right then. Its time to meet your new home."

"Hey," Nico called. "If we choose to come back, we will be able to right?"

She nodded. "We don't hold people against their will. If you don't want to stay, you are free to do whatever you want. Now, c'mon. Adrian's waiting for us."

She had walked us down a dark alley, so dark that the only visible thing was her light hair blowing against the wind, and her shinny silver blade.

"How come we're in an alley?" Nico asked from behind me.

"Well, we can't just disappeared in the middle of the street," she commented lightly. "I'm sure the mortals would notice."

"Disappeared?" I questioned.

She glanced back at me as we moved farther into the alley. She had beautiful eyes, almost a golden color. "We don't, ah, travel the 'normal' way. To get home, we have to move in between dimensions, so we can't just get in an airplane."

"No airplanes!" Nico, Thalia and I shouted.

"Yes, I'm not so fond of them, myself," she said. "Aahhh, here we are."

"Where?" I asked. There was only a wall in front of us.

She extended her hand, touching the wall with the tips of her finger, murmuring something under her breath.

"What are you-" Nico begin to asked.

"Shh," she said, then continued murmuring. A blue ray of light sprout from the cracks, and as her voice grew louder, the light begin to follow the circular movements of her fingers. "And in the name of Chaos, I here by order this portal open!" She finished, reaching _inside_ the glowing blue circle.

The blue lights were no longer just lights. They begin to take shapes, becoming more clear. It was like a TV, an image that looked so realistic that I was sure if I reached out, I could touch the plain white walls, or the fancy looking lamp.

"Adrian!" Roselyn's voice startled me out of my thoughts. "Come down. I've open the portal!"

We waited for a second, staring at her. Thalia, who was leaning against the wall, looked at her as if she was crazy, but before she could open her mouth, a dark shape dropped next to Roselyn. I reached for Riptide, and from the corner of my eye, I noticed Nico did the same, but it wasn't necessary as the figure straighten.

"Rose," Adrian said. "Ready?"

"Of course," she nodded before addressing us. "Just do what he does, and you should be okay."

We watched intently as Adrian calmly walked _into_ the portal. It was disconcerting, though, because he seemed to dissolved as he walked into the wall/portal. And when I mean dissolved, I mean like when you put salt into clear water and _poof_, its gone. Seconds later, he was standing in the middle of the white room, grinning at me.

"Go," Roselyn told Thalia. "He'll cached you, and take you to the Infirmary. We'll be right behind you."

I helped Thalia walked to the portal. She was gone for seconds before she suddenly appeared next to Glowering Blondie, who lead her down the hall. Nico, shaking his head, murmuring about mysterious blondes, and walked in.

Roselyn grinned, "Is my hair color that bad?"

I looked at her closely before shaking my head. "No. It's pretty," I blurted out before I could stop it.

She laughed. "Thank you. Well, on you go."

"Ladies first-"

"Thanks, but I have to shut down the portal."

I nodded, before stepping through the thing. It was the most unpleasant thing in the world. It seemed to be pulling at my insides, making me want to throw back whatever little I had eaten the day before, and my skin tingled, then it was over.

I hadn't realized it at the time, but I had just stepped home for the very first time.


	5. Chapter 5

**I DON'T OWN THIS: RICK RIORDAN DOES**

**~The Assassins~**

**THE ROOM WAS SO WHITE THAT IT MADE HER DIZZY TO LOOK AT.**

Of course, the wound and the blood loss might have some influence over that. She leaned over the wall in what she hopped looked like a casual pose, hopping no one would notice her shaking knees. She almost let out a sigh of relief when no one noticed. The boys were too busy asking away to the siblings - Adrian was beginning to look annoyed, Thalia thought with some amusement.

"Why is it so bright in here?" Nico wondered.

"This is the Transportation Room," Adrian answered. "The only way to get in or out of Heaven."

"Heaven?"

"Father named it like that," Roselyn intervene when her brother's eyes narrowed. "The word spread, old demigods talked about in Earth, and the mortals made their definition of it. Its believed to be the place where god resides, but its just _home_."

The change in the last word was just a slight change, but a change was there. She had said _home_ softer than the rest of her little paragraph.

Apparently no one but her cached it.

"Well every planet has a sky," she continued as they reached the end of the hall. "We are not _in_ a planet. We're _above_ every planet. We're _in _the sky."

"What about the mortals?" Thalia asked curiously.

"The mortals _you _know all go to Hades," Adrian answered. "They see whatever they believe Hell is. Everyone is the same, they just believe, see, think, and hear differently."

"And what happens in other planets?"

"Trust me," he said, eyes dark and thoughtful. "They have it a lot better in Earth."

"So we are in the sky of the sky...so what's holding us up?" Percy asked, wanting to change the conversation to a less morbid subject.

"Magic," Roselyn said, a small smirk playing on her lips. "I do believe _your _mortals call gravity."

"So mortals have it all wrong," Nico concluded.

"We, uh, may had something to do with that. If they knew what was out here...well, it wouldn't be a good idea."

"Rose," Adrian called before Nico, Thalia or Percy could say anything else. "Winter."

Thalia was lost on what he was saying, and the looks on her cousins faces told her they had no idea either. Rose, however, frown, peeking out the double doors.

"Do you think we should call the base or just jump?"

"It would take them too long for them to get here, the lazy bumps," Adrian said.

"They're not so bad," his sister contradicted. "Hermia has been keeping them in shape. He makes them take a run all around every morning at five."

"Just one time?" Adrian asked distastefully. "I would make them run four times."

She grinned at him. "Aww, come _on_, Ian! You know we would never let ourselves out of shape." She tug on his hand. "Do you want to jump or should I?"

"You do it," he said. Then he frown. "Quit with the nickname."

"You'll never learn to be patient with it, will you? Plus, I like the nickname," she teased before throwing her body out of the doors.

"What the-" Percy yelled as Nico rushed forward, and Thalia yelped.

Adrian grabbed the back of Nico's shirt, holding him in place. "Don't panic. She's fine. The jump's just a few hundred feet down."

"_Just_-" Percy sputtered.

"She could _die_!" Thalia moved forward but Adrian's laugh stop her.

"A _fall?_ Kill her? Please," he said, glancing down. "Are you done? You're taking forever down there!"

"You can afford to wait forever," she called back up.

Adrian smirked smugly at them. "I have more important things to do with that time."

"Then stop babbling nonsense and jump, brother," she called mockingly.

He rolled his eyes. "Why do I always fall into this..." he trail off, and with a sigh, he threw his body out the doors the same way Rose had - carelessly, arm stretched, legs together, body at ease.

Thalia let out a breath. "Is it just me or are they insane?"

Percy shook his head. "It's not just you."

"Oi!" Adrian called. "You can't stay up there. The maximum time is twenty minutes. You've got about seven minutes before the door fades, and you're send back to Earth. So jump!"

"It's not that far down," Roselyn called. "Thalia should jump down first. We'll catch her."

Thalia suddenly felt sick. She hated heights, and they wanted her to _jump down a few hundred feet?_

She took a step back, swallowing the vile that threaten to rise to the surface. Percy, ever the sensitive guy, placed a hand on her shoulder. "They jumped," he said encouragingly. "And they're okay. I'm sure they mean it when they say they'll catch you."

She shook her head. "I don't want to..."

"Do you want me to go first?" Nico asked.

"How about we all go at the same time?" Percy inquired, glancing at the doors - which went straight down. "Maybe it's easier that way." He grabbed her wrist. "Come on."

"Percy," she whined. "I don't really want to...You guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Her ever so annoying cousins shared a look before Percy - he could be such an inconvenient bastard at times- grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder, jumping _carelessly and stupidly down_. Her heart was lost somewhere in the air as they fell towards their deaths. Everything was blurry, the only color she could make out was black. Her breath was taken away, and she was left with no vocals - she couldn't scream for help. A ice cold terror gripped at her heart, and -

It was over.

It took her a few moments to notice that she wasn't dying - though, her stomach was queasy, and her ears were ringing.

"Thalia?"

She was set down. The relief of feeling _sweet earth_ beneath her made her want to cry like a child. She was panting for breath, her vision settling. She looked up to notice two amused faces, and a wary one.

"She's going to kill me when she recovers," Percy said, taking a step back. "The fall was longer than I thought."

"No," Adrian said. "There's higher heights, which you'll see later if you decide to stay."

Thalia almost groan. Oh, gods, _please _no more heights.

"Why is it pitch back in there?" Nico's voice suddenly appeared. She didn't bother lifting her head to look. She was dizzy enough as it was.

"It's easier to see when you can't see," Adrian answered before grabbing his sister's elbow and steering her away. "Let's go. I'm hungry."

"You know, you don't have to _drag_ me everywhere, Adrian -" Roselyn said as they walked into the fores-

Wait, what?

She blinked, looking around. They were not in a blinding white room, or a deceiving room full of darkness, but in a breathtaking forest. Trees over forty feet tall, an orange-y, (yellow where the strikes of sunlight hit) beautiful color. The curvy forest floor was covered in reddish leafs. It looked so peaceful, Thalia thought in awe.

They followed behind the siblings, who were quietly bickering about something.

She open her mouth to say something, but stop, glancing down. But she wasn't imagining things. The blood was back, and she could feel it sliding down her back-

Shit.

"How did we get here?" Thalia called up to the siblings. She had to distract herself from the bleeding wound before the pain settled in.

They turn, their blonde hair glittering strangely in the sunlight.

"Here?" Roselyn shrugged. "Combinations of powers equal transportation, which took us to the Transportation Room. After that I moved the Season and here we are. Fall at its finest."

She blinked. "English please?"

The blondes smirked.

"You'll understand later," Adrian said.

"The villa is still twenty minutes away," Roselyn said, sighing. "I want a hot shower."

"I have a _war_ I need to get back to," her brother complained. "Your shower can wait."

"No," she said. "Hygiene can't wait."

Adrian snorted. "One thing you ought to know when you meet Chaos," he said to them, ignoring his sister, "is that you shouldn't lie to him. He'll see through you, plus there's no reason to lie. I don't think the Council will be there. Rose-?"

"No," Roselyn sighed. "The Council's been spread far too thin. Dean was sent with Jack, Emerline, Meritha, Nythialas, Corsin, and the Sean's twins to Fifth Universe. They _won't_ be coming back for _weeks_. I'm worried, Adrian. Father didn't send them together like he normally does. He's has them everywhere."

Adrian frown. "Have they been communicating?"

She rubbed her temples. "I _don't know_. If you don't remember, brother, _I was pulled back eight days ago_."

He scowled at her. "Why did he send _half_ of the Council away?"

She threw her hands up. "What should I know? Father's barely said two words to me for _months_. He spends all of his time up in the tower, alone. The only person I know that talked to him was Ellia, who was ordered to put the army to _rest_."

The siblings stared at each other before Adrian looked at them. "Yeah, so the Council isn't going to be there. They're the ones who keep us in line, passing Chaos's orders on."

"That's all?" Nico asked, sensing the edge on Adrian's tone.

The boy just frown. "That's all. They _should_ be the first members you meet, but since they're gone..."

"Oh, and if you decide you don't want to stay," Roselyn said, "you should bare in mind that you won't remember any of this, and we'll take you back to Earth." She looked more serious than they've seen her since they meet her. "Choose carefully."

* * *

They were all quiet as they closed on the villa. A villa with small cozy houses, different colors, and sizes, but all mostly modest. It was all mostly surrounded by forest, and the floor was covered with red flowers. There was an impressive amount of people walking around in the streets. Cute coffee shops with tables outside, shops with fruits on show, clothes shops with little girls squealing at the windows...

"Wow," Percy said. "This place is amazing."

"It's not here," Adrian said, waving at a few kids who had yelled out his name. "Come one. It's almost nightfall, and we need to get a move one. I'm tired, and like Rose said, I want a shower."

The siblings - after greeting _all_ of the people in the small villa - had lead them to the edge of the forest.

"You do the honors, Adrian," Roselyn said, leaning against a tree. "I'm exhausted."

He rolled his eyes before taking his off the black gloves he wore, bending down. He brushed the leaves aside, leaving a the earth visible. He placed the tips of his fingers in the dirt, and murmured something under his breath that sounded like "_now._"

Two shinny black fancy cars appeared. They weren't _just _fancy cars, but identical BMWs.

"We can get cars like _that_ in here?" Percy asked, bright eyes stuck to the car.

"You can get anything in here," Roselyn answered as she pushed herself off the tree, and walking towards the driver's seat of one of the cars. "We can't vanish them _here_, but we can certainly imagine up almost anything. It takes a ridiculous amount of energy. Now, hop in anywhere. Adrian and I are going to take you for a little ride."

"Don't slam again, Rose," Adrian mocked as they all climbed into the cars.

"Oh, don't worry about me, brother," she called as she twisted the key.

"You make it difficult _not_ to," he called back.

Roselyn looked over to Thalia, who had decided to ride with her. The teams were uneven, boys versus girls, but Thalia found she didn't mind. The blonde haired girl beamed. "Ready for a little thrill?"

"Promise not to slam us into a tree?" Thalia asked.

The beam turn into a smirk. "Of course not. Have a little more trust."

Before Thalia could say anything else, Adrian yelled out something she couldn't catch, which made Roselyn laugh.

Then, she lost her stomach.

When Roselyn had said _a little thrill_, Thalia had guessed that the siblings were joking. She should have known better. The siblings had kept up with their insane ideas since the moment she meet them. However, the award for _The Most Dangerous Idea Of the Blonde Twins_ goes to Racing in the Forest!

Thalia watch with wide eyes as the trees blurred - were those even trees? She wasn't sure. Everything seemed to blend together at the speed they were going. She clutch the seat as Roselyn jerked the car from side to side. Thalia was pretty sure if she had food in her stomach, it would have been coming back out.

"Roselyn!" Thalia cried. "Slow down-!"

Said girl just laughed. "We're not even going at full speed, Thalia. Relax."

"You're going to crash!" Thalia exclaimed. "I don't want to die this young, Roselyn!"

Roselyn looked out the window before looking at her with a wide grin. "I've play this game with Adrian a million times. I've only crashed a few hundred of those times." She paused, glancing at her. "You can call me Rose, if you like. Almost everyone does."

"I will - _if I survive!_"

"Oh, come on. Have a little faith." And the girl pushed past the car's limit.

Thalia wasn't sure how Roselyn could _see_ anything as she drove at insane speed that should not exist. At some point, Rose had the window down, and was shouting something to her brother - _taunts_?- and laughing maniacally at whatever he responded. She wonder for a brief moment if her cousins were suffering like she was.

Then it was all over. The car came to screeching halt, her body slammed to the door. She took a deep breath when she noticed the car had stop spinning, turning to look at Rose, who-

"Ha!" Rose was already out of the car. "We won! Thalia, we won! Come on, let's go rub it in my brother's face."

And so the blubbing ball of energy and terror that was called Rose pulled the poor lamenting soul of Thalia out of the car, dragging her to where the boys were.

"You cheated," Adrian claimed as soon as they were within hearing. "You know how much I hate that curve, and you took advantage of it! You cheated."

"Is that it's called now? Being clever is now cheating? Mmhh," she argued. "If that's the case, then you've cheated more than I have."

He frown at her. "A compliment with an insult. How very like you, Roselyn."

Her lips turned down. "You cannot stand losing. I don't understand why you like playing this games with me if every time I win you're going to be a complete jerk about it." With that being said, she turn, walking away.

He sighed as he watch his sister. "Rose-"

"Come, Percy, Thalia, Nico," she called back, not bother to check if they were following her or not.

Percy looked at Adrian before following her. Thalia shrugged her shoulders, not sure what to say. Rose had been so pumped up about beating her brother, and he killed her spirit. She turn her heel, and follow the girl, Nico besides her.

The walk was unconformable, and stiff, as they made their way to...wherever they were going. She was tempted to ask, but by the stony silence of the siblings, she guess questions would be unwelcome.

She let herself trail behind her cousins, pulling her shirt away from her skin. She could make out a house at a distance, but she wasn't sure if they were stopping there. The blood, though, she couldn't feel the blood anymore due to the pain. She clenched her jaw, determine not to make a sound.

"Rose," Adrian called as he stepped besides her. He grasp her arm, but she jerk her arm loose from his hold, saying nothing to him. He tried again, only this time she elbowed him in the stomach, stepping away from him. She looked at them with an emotionless face, not playing attention to her brother.

"We'll be there in about twenty minutes. You will be search befor-" She stop, her eyes narrowing as they zeroed on Thalia. "You're bleeding."

She jumped, stepping back. "What? No! I'm not-"

They all had turn to look at her, even Adrian who had apparently recover from his sister's abuse.

"Thalia?" Percy took a step forward. "Are you really bleeding?"

"There's blood on the floor, directly where she's standing," Roselyn said, catching her wrist. "And look, her shirt's dark on the back- Damn it. I thought the ambrosia would last a while longer, or at least close the wound a little."

"We need to get her to the base," Adrian said. "Can you hold for another fifteen minutes?"

"You go on ahead, Adrian." There was a cold edge on Roselyn's voice as she addressed Adrian. "Have Ridge get everything ready."

He looked at her for a moment before he placed a hand on her back. "Rose," he said.

She shook him off, taking a hold of Thalia's arm. "Go, _Adrian._"

He shook his head before taking off. He was a blur as he ran towards the house, Thalia mused. She turned to look at the girl besides her, who didn't even seem surprised at her brother's speed.

"I can walk you know," she joked weakly.

The girl didn't smile. "Good night, Thalia."

And then she was knocked out

* * *

At least a half of dozen _kids_ were waiting for them. Kids of all ages, mostly teenagers.

"Ridge," Rose said, passing Thalia's limp body to a redheaded boy with a blue and brown eye. "Bleeding for the past... I don't know, maybe fifteen minutes. I couldn't be sure. I used ambrosia, and nectar-"

"You didn't feed it to her?" The boy named Ridge ask as several people began to take Thalia away.

"No. I thought it was dangerous, considering I didn't know how much they've consumed in the last couple of days." She frown. "Take care of her will you?"

He smiled, "When have I failed the lady?"

She shooked her head, "Not in a few thousand years. Though there was this one time where we played capture the flag..."

He flushed. "You promised you wouldn't talk about that ever again, Rose!"

She grinned for the first time in ten minutes. "You go head. I'm going to show them to Father." The grin vanish.

Ridge frown, throwing an arm around her. "Hey, he's had his moments, you know that. Everything will be fine again in a few days."

She sigh. "Go."

He let go of her. "Yes, Lady Ma'am." With a cheery wave at Nico and Percy, he walked down hall.

Percy caught her sigh before she turn to face them. "Let's go." She walk straight, instead of taking either of the halls. Percy couldn't see where exactly she was going, there was _nothing_ in front of them, just a white wall.

"Um, there's nothing there." Percy felt the need to point out.

She didn't even look back at him. She had spoken only to Ridge, and that had been brief. The stony wall of silence remain strong, and unbendable. She pressed her hand to the wall, and murmured something under her breath. The stone walls parted slowly, sliding into itself. The wall had opened to reveled a pearly white staircase, twisting upwards. She step forward, clearly expecting them to follow.

"This is so cool," Nico said, glancing around excitingly.

Percy grinned, remembering back at Camp when he first meet Nico. He'd change so much over the years, yet, it was good to know that the little kid he meet was still there, deep down, but still there.

"Is this like a secret passage?" Nico continued.

"The entrance of the Council's Room," came Roselyn's clip reply.

"Awesome," Nico breath.

"Isn't it a little obvious?" Percy asked, hoping she didn't snap at them. "It's behind a _wall_."

"It is not behind a wall," she said. "Not that it matters. Accesses is _absolutely_ necessary, otherwise you cannot walk in."

"You don't trust your own people," Percy guessed.

She sighed deeply, not answering. The rest of the walk was silent. They passed a lot of paintings of demigods - or he hoped to be demigods- all who were dressed in black suits.

"Who are they?" Percy asked.

She lifted her head. "Demigods, all under our service who have ceased. The higher we go, the...longer it has been since they've been dead," she murmured distractedly.

"That's a lot of demigods," Nico said quietly.

"How can there _be_ that many?" Percy wondered.

"Earth isn't the only planet with gods," she said.

Her tone made him shut up.

After twenty long minutes of tense silence, they came to a halt upon another set of sparkly pearl doors. She squared her shoulders, turning to look at them.

"Behave," she warned before she reached out to push the doors open. Percy noticed her shoulders tighten even further as she step inside. He glance at Nico, who shrugged, as if saying 'Don't just stand there, go in', which he did after he stuck out his tongue to Nico

The room inside was white - with a few shades of very light gray here and there. A black oval table for at least twenty people was the first thing that pop out, Percy noted. The table was messy with papers, cups - all different colors- weapons, make up, book, color pencils, sketchbooks with drawings half finished, and even a couple of phones. In front of the table, there was window that took up the entire wall. To the right, there was a small living room with black leather couches, and a brown coffee table. All in all, it looked very homey.

A door opening called his attention. He looked up, and paused.

"Oh, Roselyn. I seen you completed you mission. Funny, I recall sending you for three, not two."

Roselyn didn't look at the man. "She was injured. I suspect Adrian's with her." She frown, adding under her breath, "He better be."

The tall albino man turned to look at them, eyes swirling. "Ahh, I see. Well, nice to meet you, young Mr. Jackson, Mr. di Angelo. I am Chaos."


End file.
